Tell Me What I've Missed
by emberfire411
Summary: Normally, Riven being a giant jerk wasn't a red flag.
**Title:** Tell Me What I've Missed
 **Full Summary: "** Normally, Riven being a giant jerk wasn't a red flag." Sky returns to Red Fountain after breaking free of Diaspro's curse, and finds something wrong with Riven.  
 **Word Count:** 3,082  
 **Takes Place:** During Season 3, episode 14 *insert preferred dub title here*  
 **A/N:** Chris, aka realms-delight, aka Half-Year Queen gave me the idea for the horribly depressing fic after coming back from the Psycho Pass movie, where my heart had already been ripped out. Wanting to avoid doing actual homework, I wrote it.

* * *

Normally Riven being a giant dick wasn't a red flag.

Sky had lived in the same dorm as Riven for the last four years, and aside from the incidents surrounding their sophomore year when the Trix came to call, it was a fact he'd come to accept. He knew when snide comments were meant jokingly (like when someone ate the last protein bar, claimed the shower first after a mission, or when Brandon joked about the dates he went on with Musa), and could tell when there was actual seriousness behind them. Said seriousness was rare.

Which was why Sky was so thrown off when he made eye contact with Riven as he walked down the hall to the room; the redhead looked him up and down, rolled his eyes, and said "Well, well, look who decided to grace us with his presence once more."

It caused Sky to stop in his tracks, almost dropping the duffel bag that was slung over his shoulder. Behind him, Sky heard Brandon inhale, sharply.

Riven stared at them for a few seconds more, then sighed irritably. "You coming in or what?" he asked, and walked in the door to their common room, leaving it open for them.

Sky turned to Brandon, who merely shrugged. They followed him inside.

Helia was sitting on the couch, and rose to give Sky a hug. "Welcome back, man. How are you?"

"Hanging in there." He replied. "Where's Timmy?"

There's an annoyed snort from Riven, and Sky rolled his eyes and turned to glare at him. "What's your…" he started to snap, but stopped when he remembered what Brandon told him on the shuttle back from Eraklyon. "Tecna."

"Right, Tecna," Riven mocked him, and Sky confirmed in his head this was past Riven's normal sarcasm and into angry territory. "He won't come out of his room, since you didn't ask. Helia and I had to bring him food from the dining hall just so he'd eat something other than anti-sleep protein shakes."

"Grandfather gave him the rest of the week off from class," Helia added. He went to get a glass of water from the kitchenette, shooting Riven a clear 'knock it off' look as he passed. "In its place though, he's visiting the grief counselor that's here. You should too, when you get the chance. It's helpful."

"Not all of us feel better talking about our emotions like that," Riven said. His voice and facial expressions seemed to soften, but they went right back to stone when his eyes landed on Sky.

The blond took a breath. "I'm glad you guys are looking out for him. How're the girls?"

"They weren't great when we saw them earlier. A lot of grief and sadness," Helia trailed off, and Sky watched him drum his fingers on the counter. "They're all pretty torn up. Hopefully Faragonda keeps them from doing anything rash."

"You really think they'd go after Valtor?" Brandon spoke up for the first time. "How could they even get into Cloud Tower?"

"The tunnels," Sky said after a moment. "Or just brute force. I'd want to punch the stupid smirk off the guy's face too."

"Because you've stood up so well against his magic so far."

It was the final, hate-laced nail in the coffin. Sky's head snapped to Riven, who was leaning against the wall. "I'm sorry, did you forget to take your sarcasm-decreasing medication this morning? Because either I'm out of practice or you're being a bigger asshat than normal."

"Sky," Brandon's tone was a warning. So was the hand he laid on his shoulder.

Riven's eyes narrowed. "No, no, Diaspro's lapdog is right. I've lost one of my best friends today and the other won't come out of his room; I suppose that _is_ making me a bit of an asshat."

Sky stood up. "You want to say that again?"

"Riven," Helia grabbed the other boy's arm, but he wrenched it out of his grasp, walking forward until the two stood nose to nose.

"What's the matter?" Riven asked, his eyes almost _daring_ Sky to do something. "You lose your hearing back on Eraklyon from hearing the love of your life croon over you so much?"

Sky chuckled, but it wasn't friendly. "I guess I missed the part where Darcy put her mind control spell on you again, except instead of a slave you're just an even bigger prick."

The next thing he feels is Riven's fist connecting with his face.

Sky staggers back, and when he can see straight he punches down and hits Riven below the ribcage, winding him and causing him to fall to his knees.

"Low blow, Your Majesty."

Sky lunges forward again. "Listen here –"

"Alright enough! Come on!" Brandon pulls him back before he can hit again, and Helia's down holding Riven's shoulders, preventing him from pouncing again. "Knock it off, both of you."

"You're telling me to calm down?" Sky snapped. "Riven started it!"

"Can't even take a joke anymore?" the comment was mumbled, but loud enough for Helia to shush him.

"You're _way_ past jokes, and you know it!"

"Well cry me a river then! We can't all be as sensitive as you." Riven said.

"What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem? That's –"

"Hey!"

The fifth voice caused everyone's heads to turn.

Timmy's eyes were red, his glasses perched precariously on the end of his nose. He was in grey sweats with oil stains that Sky knew he only wore when he was putting gadgets together. It'd been almost two months since he'd seen the boy, and though it was probably in his head, Sky thought he looked thinner.

His head moved slowly as he surveyed the scene. After a few seconds of dead silence, he sighed. "This has been arguably the worst day of my life so far," he said, quietly. "I know that doesn't mean it hasn't been for you guys either. But if you could kindly refrain from beating each other to a pulp," at this he glared at Sky and Riven. "I would _really_ appreciate it."

With that, he turned and went back to his room, closing it with a slam.

Riven was the first to react, standing from his crouched position. "I'll go –"

"I think you've done enough." Helia cut him off, dusting off his pants. "I have late class tomorrow; I'll stay up with Timmy. You can sleep in my bed. Sky and Brandon have had a long trip, and I'm sure they'd like some sleep too." He looked over at them. "Tomorrow after class, I will personally fly you to Alfea to see the girls. Until then, we are all giving each other space."

Helia's tone implied he was giving orders instead of making a suggesting. Sky looked at Riven, who after a brief amount of eye contact grunted, and turned to grab his things from the room he shared with Timmy.

"Keep them separated," Helia said to Brandon, who nodded. Then he turned and followed Riven.

This, Sky decided as he iced the bruise starting to form on his cheek, was a red flag on Riven's part.

* * *

By the end of his classes the next day, Sky also decided he may widen his parameters for punching people from Riven to the entirety of the Red Fountain student body. Every time he turned a corner, eyes went to him and conversations stopped. Whispers followed him around from one class to the next, and even the teachers were giving him weird looks and acting like he was a caged animal that would pounce at any moment.

 _Man, under Valtor's curse then his friend dies? He must be so broken up…_

 _I heard there wasn't even a spell; he really dumped her, but his image was getting bad so he blamed it on Diaspro…_

 _How do you live with yourself after that…_

 _The princesses of Isis_ and _Domino wanna sleep with you? Man, the life of a royal must be_ so _hard…_

His focus drained steadily throughout the day until Codatora kicked him out of training half an hour early, when his wandering mind made him almost forget to help Brandon lift a three hundred pound weight off his chest.

"Everything passes, son," the professor said as Sky passed him on the way to the lockers. "Until then, don't let the past cloud your judgment. I expect you sharp as a knife tomorrow, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Sky went to the lockers to shower, turning the water almost too hot to stand. He let it fall over him as he took several deep breaths. Though most of the students had learned to ignore the more harpy comments from the professors, he genuinely hoped Codotora was right.

He had his jeans on when he heard Riven's voice behind him.

"A little early to be getting out of class, isn't it? You get thrown out?"

Sky turned around. Riven had the same look on his face as last night, the only difference being his eyes, which were sunken in from an obvious lack of sleep.

"I did," Sky kept his tone neutral. "Almost left a barbell on Brandon's chest."

Riven chuckled, but it wasn't friendly. "Always a true friend, Sky." He walked past him to his own locker down the row, purposely shoving his shoulder as he went past.

A few of the other Specialists looked over at them, waiting for a fight.

Sky glared at Riven as he got his workout clothes out. "So are you ever going to tell me why you've been _extra_ prickly since I got back?"

Riven shrugged. "I'm a prickly man, Sky. Most people have figured that out. The _extra_ is probably in your head."

"I don't think it is. If my face is any indication," he motioned to the bruise on his cheek, "it proves you're going out of your way to piss me off."

"Well I'll make a note to be super-duper careful around your _fwelings_ then."

Sky slammed his locker shut.

"You _have_ been a bit of a drama queen since you've been back," Riven continued as Sky stalked closer. The redhead glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Reminds me of when Bloom made a vow not to talk to you after the Day of the Royals back when we all thought your name was Brandon. Looking back, I think she had a good idea."

Before he could stop himself, Sky balled his hand into a fist and hit Riven in the jaw.

He went down like a sack of dragon food, and there was an audible gasp from the small audience they'd accumulated. "Now," he said, glaring down at Riven, "we're even."

Riven swung his leg, knocking Sky's feet out from under him. Before he could blink the other boy was on top of him, and went for his face. Sky hit back, the two of them rolling around on the floor throwing punches like it was a boxing match. He felt his body start to ache from the blows, but he pushed past it, especially when he felt his fist connect with Riven's nose. It dazed the other boy enough for Sky to push him off him.

Riven's nose was bleeding, a bruise already forming under his right eye. Sky was pretty sure he didn't look better – he could feel a trickle of blood running down the side of his face. "What the hell is your problem?" he yelled. "I have spent the last two months trapped in my own damn head, watching myself act the part in a horrible show, and now I get back here and you're suddenly the world's biggest jackass again?"

The redheaded Specialist rolled his eyes and spit a mouthful of blood out onto the floor.

"I don't need this shit from you!" Sky continued. "You don't get to come in and play the Holier Than Thou game when you don't have any idea-"

"I don't have any idea?" Riven's voice echoed off the walls, rattling everyone – especially Sky – into a dead silence. Briefly, Sky wondered if he had ever heard Riven so angry before, and realized he hadn't.

"I don't know what it's like to spend a horrendous amount of time under someone else's control?" Riven stood up, slowly. "I don't know what it's like to be trapped in your own head watching the people around you, _screaming_ for help while your mouth stays shut? Wondering if this is what the rest of my life will be; playing as the pawn of an absolute bitch?"

Sky stared at him, his mouth slightly ajar, and Riven laughed again. "No, Sky, I suppose I don't have any idea what that's like. That time I Darcy spelled me and used me as a personal puppet _totally_ doesn't count.

"And for days after what happened to you, all I hear from anyone is _oh, it must be a spell_. _Oh, Sky is so handsome and perfect there's no way he would ever have a single selfish intention it must have been something Diaspro did_ over and over and over again! Brandon, Timmy, Bloom, Musa, all of them up in arms that something had to be wrong. This just isn't Sky! Everyone had your back and thought the best of you." Riven's voice faded down, and the pieces clicked in Sky's head as he saw the pain in the other boy's eyes. "I wonder what that's like."

The door to the locker room opened, and a Specialist stepped in with Codatora in tow. The professor's ears reddened as he took in the scene. "Riven!" he bellowed.

He gave Sky a sarcastic smile, and turned on his heel. "Yeah, Saladin's office. I'm going."

* * *

Sky didn't think the day could get any worse, but he was proven wrong when he and Brandon got to Alfea and found Bloom gone.

"Faragonda just let her go off like that?"

"Faragonda orchestrated it," Flora said. The usual chipper tone in her voice was gone. "She said it might be a few days before we hear anything, but the minute we do we'll let you know." The nature fairy placed a hand on Sky's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

He didn't say anything.

Brandon sighed. "Well looks like we wasted a hovecraft trip."

"No, you didn't," Musa said. "You can always hang out for a little bit. Sit around and watch a movie; there's this cool new thing Tecna has…"

She trailed off as her words caught up to her.

The slip was enough to shake Sky out of his state. "We appreciate it, but we've still got homework. We should probably head back. But like Flora said, you'll let us know?"

The girls nodded, and everyone said their goodbyes. As hugs finished, Sky grabbed Stella's wrist before she could head off with the others. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course."

"We've known Riven longer than anyone else, right?"

Stella raised an eyebrow. "I guess."

"When Darcy spelled him…did you know something was wrong?"

The question seemed to surprise her. "Oh. Well…I don't know. It was a long time ago, Sky."

"Just think about it. You knew immediately something was wrong with me; did you with Riven?"

"…I guess not. It seemed like it was in Riven's nature to do something jerk-y like that," Stella said. "I mean looking back _now_ of _course_ I know I realized something was wrong. But back then I didn't put the pieces together, you know? We didn't know how powerful the witches were, and we didn't realize Riven could be…"

"Nice?" Sky filled in.

Stella shivered. "It makes us sound horrible when you say it like that."

"But it's true." Sky shook his head. "Thanks."

"Did he say something to you?" Stella asked, looking right at the bruise on Sky's cheek.

"Sort of. I'll fill you in later."

She rolled her eyes as he headed off to the ship. "Keep your face intact at least! Bloom won't want to take you back if you look like a disfigured, purple and green monster!"

* * *

Sky found Riven – surprisingly – in their room when he got back to Red Fountain. Normally when he was in a bitter mood, he would sulk at the top of the school, alone.

They stared at each other for a few seconds as Sky walked in the door, Brandon zipping by and going into Timmy's room. There was more silence as the door shut.

"…Saladin go easy on you?" Sky finally asked.

Riven shrugged. "Helping out in the stables all day Sunday. Not the worst thing in the world."

More silence.

"…Sometimes I don't remember how awful we were to you our first two years here."

"Don't," Riven cut him off, rubbing his temples. "I didn't say that to guilt trip you or anything. I was angry and it slipped out."

"That doesn't make it less true," Sky sat on the couch opposite Riven. "We should have realized back then. What Darcy did to you. We…I shouldn't have thought the worst."

Riven gave the smallest nod. "I should have done the same. The girls were adamant you were spelled, but I didn't want to get their hopes up in case I was wrong." A pause. "I know you didn't mean to, but you really hurt Bloom."

Sky sighed. "I know. I'm going to have a lot of work to do. But hey, you and Musa got past this. We can too."

"You can," Riven agreed. "You're gonna have to answer a lot of questions you don't want to answer, but it'll reassure her. It's worth it."

"Okay. Anything else?"

Riven paused, and after a moment a faint smile spread across his lips. "I really did a number on your face, Prince Charming."

Sky laughed at that. "I could say the same thing. We're both gonna get dumped if these don't heal right."

"Out in the cold, with only our memories for comfort." Riven tone was sarcastic, but it was back to normal. "I'm not dating you if we end up single."

The blond smiled. "As much as I love redheads, I can live with that."

"Guys!" Riven and Sky turned their heads to Brandon, who was poking his head out the door to Riven and Timmy's room. "Come help us out. Timmy trying to finalize this scanner-thing that's going to look for Tecna!"


End file.
